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Weighted grading categories in Microsoft Teams Assignments provide your students with an overall percentage grade based on the different weightings and different assignments that you can set.   For example, you can set up homework as making up 20% of a student’s grade, quizzes as 30% and in-class assignments at 50%. Did you know that … Read more

Cloud Design Box logo with colorful abstract background and SharePoint design theme.

The Call To Action SharePoint Web Part is a Cloud Design Box exclusive feature that allows you to quickly create professional-looking and eye-catching call to actions on your SharePoint sites.  This guide shows you how to add a Call To Action to your SharePoint sites.   How to add a Call To Action Web part … Read more

Title image for How to schedule assignments for later in Class Teams. A black woman sitting in classroom

Scheduling assignments to automatically post to students at a later date allows teachers to plan ahead and save time. This quick guide shows you how to schedule your assignments in Microsoft Teams for Education in a few easy steps. Scheduling assignments for later. First, you need to create a new assignment in Teams. Head to … Read more

Diverse children engaged in a discussion around a table in a classroom setting.

We’re delighted to be presenting at the exclusive education event Outstanding Cloud First Schools: Our Vision, Your School alongside our partners Microsoft, ApiraCloud and SalamanderSoft.   This free event is hosted by Microsoft at their London Paddington offices and features an exciting line-up of EdTech industry experts.   The one-day conference is designed for school and … Read more

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Suggested replies in Microsoft Teams can help you save time and quickly respond to messages without typing. Responding to messages and emails takes up a lot of time. And, often, these replies may only need to be a quick confirmation or standard reply. How many times have you typed something like “That’s great, thanks”, or … Read more

Create Eye-catching announcements in Microsoft Teams

Announcements in Microsoft Teams are great for highlighting content for a whole class or department. In this guide, we show you how to post an eye-catching announcement in your Teams channels, alongside some time-saving tips. How to post an announcement in Teams. You can create an eye-catching, customised announcement post with a coloured background in … Read more

James Emmett from Cloud Design Box visits Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire Microsoft Teams and SharePoint University Technical College

Cloud Design Box recently visited the Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire to get a deeper understanding of how Microsoft Teams and SharePoint are used by students, teachers and senior leadership teams in schools.   The Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire is one of around 50 University Technical Colleges (UTCs) across the country, purposely built to prepare young people … Read more

Title image for Post a document as news on a SharePoint site. Man with tablet sat reading news. A coffee is on the table.

Posting a document as news on SharePoint is a great way to share important information and resources with a large group of people. For example, you can share policies, handbooks, revision material, or any other useful information that your school, trust or organisation may need to be informed about. Here’s an example of staff handbook … Read more

Teacher using Microsoft Teams Assignments to provide video feedback to students

Microsoft Teams Assignments uplifts static documents by introducing real-time feedback from tutors. Assignments is available in Class Teams and is a dynamic tool with useful features like calendar integration and point system tracking, as well as the ability to add verbal feedback for students. How to leave feedback on Microsoft Teams Assignments: Open Microsoft Teams … Read more

Attach Microsoft Forms to Teams Assignments

Microsoft Forms are a great way to engage students in their learning and get them to reflect on a recent lesson or revise a topic for an upcoming exam or assessment. In this guide, we show you how to attach a Form to a Microsoft Teams Assignment. With Forms, you can make interactive quizzes for … Read more

Title image for How to convert a Word Document or PDF to a Microsoft Form. Young child with parent looking at a computer screen as they complete homework.

The new Import functionality in Microsoft Forms allows you to import your existing Word and PDF documents and turn them into interactive forms. Note: This function is not currently available on Office.com. Instead, you need to be on forms.office.com. (correct at the time of publishing September 2022).  Converting Word and PDF documents to Microsoft Forms is … Read more

Title image for How to make writing eaiser with Microsoft Dictate. Young woman using a laptop and headset with a microphone to convert her speech to text with Microsoft Dictate

Microsoft’s Dictate tool is great for those who struggle to get their ideas down onto paper – it allows you to speak into your microphone and convert your speech to text on the screen.   Dictation is available on all Microsoft tools that use text. It’s an excellent feature for both students and teachers, helping … Read more

Title image for How to cut the chaos out of collaborating in Microsoft Teams. Three teenage students sat around a laptop and collaborating on a school project. One is holding a pen and notebook.

The collaboration space in Class Notebook allows students and teachers to work together on a learning resource in real-time. This is a great opportunity for students to get more involved in working as a group as they can add text, digital ink (drawing) and insert images and videos. Although letting your class loose on a … Read more

Title image for collaboration channels in Microsoft Class Teams. Three students sitting and working on a group project, one has a laptop, the other two have notebooks.

A collaboration channel in Class Teams is a great way for students to communicate and collaborate on projects in a safe and controlled way. Teachers can create a workspace for group work and add resources so students can work on projects together. The collaboration channel allows you to oversee your students’ progress. How to add … Read more

School child sat at a table on a laptop. There is a red phone in the foreground

Reflect check-ins in Class Notebook are a brilliant way for teachers to get a good understanding of which students may need additional support or guidance.  Meanwhile, reflecting on learning is good practice for students to build self-awareness and take ownership of their own education.   In this guide, we show you how to insert a … Read more

How to turn on late turn in notifications for your assignments in Microsoft Teams

The late turn in notification in Microsoft Teams Assignments allows you to be alerted if a student hands in their homework late. The notification appears in the bottom corner of your screen, as well as the activity bell in the top-left of your Microsoft Teams. This can be activated per assignment, or for all assignments … Read more

Cloud Design Box logo with Outlook Events in SharePoint image.

In this guide, we show you how to add the Cloud Design Box exclusive My Events web part to your SharePoint sites.   The My Events web part gives you a quick glance at your upcoming events by showing your calendar events from Outlook.   It would sit perfectly on a home page so users … Read more

How to add an FAQ section to a SharePoint page title image

In this guide, we show you how to add the Cloud Design Box Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Web Part to your SharePoint sites. The FAQ web part is an extremely versatile addition to any SharePoint site and can be customised to create an interactive FAQs section to help give quick guidance to your users.   … Read more

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